"Come on guys, hurry up. We don't have all day you know!" a voice suddenly snapped through the foggy darkness.
"Joey, are you sure this is a good idea? I mean, what if your calculations are incorrect and someone shows up earlier than expected?" We might get caught." another voice rang with concern.
"We won't get caught Snake...trust me! The custodians don't start showing up for work until six, teachers around seven or so. We've got plenty of time to do this!"
Three shadows stood before Degrassi Junior High School holding bags of toilet paper and other supplies they had brought for this exact day which happens to be April First.
"Alright, are you guys sure we got everything? The shaving cream, the paint and feathers?"
"For the eleventh time Joey, yes!" the third voice replied with an annoying sigh. "Can we just get this over with? My Grandparents would kill me if we get caught!"
"Wheels, again we won't get caught alright? Now, you and I will take our positions in the back of the building while Snake, you handle the front."
"WHAT? Joey, you expect me to chuck rolls of paper over that?" Snake asked while pointing towards the school.
"Shoot, maybe we should have thought this through first." Joey muttered.
"Great, now what are we suppose to do?" snapped Wheels.
"Hey, we can still do this...we just have to toilet paper the trees instead!"
Joey then ripped open a package of toilet paper and pulled out a roll, immediately chucking it over a nearby branch.
"Come on, start pitching in! The more we have doing this, the faster we can get this done!"
Reluctantly, Wheels and Snake began to join in, each taking a roll and chucking them over the branches.
It only took them fifteen minutes to completely cover the trees that lined near the main entrance of the school.
"See, I told you guys we wouldn't get caught. We're only fifteen minutes in and there's not a single staff member in sight! Come on, we still got this side to do." Joey announced as he began making his way over to the right side of the school yard.
"JOEY...!" Wheels and Snake chided as they rushed over to Joey's side. "We've done enough! Let's not over do it."
"What do you mean 'not over do it'? That's the whole point of April Fools Day!"
Meanwhile just across the street from the school, 22 year old Louella Hawkins was in the process of getting ready for another day of work.
She got into her janitor's uniform, fixed up her spiky blond hair then headed downstairs for a cup of coffee.
As she waited for the kettle to boil, she went over to the calendar and changed it from March to April then turned on the TV in the living room for some background noise.
'And Good Morning Toronto. It is now 5:30 AM on this wonderful first day of April. Hope you haven't had too many pranks pulled on you so far this morning, however Mother Nature seems to be pulling one weather wise as we start off the morning at plus four degrees but later on dipping down into the minus range with a chance of some flurries by this afternoon...'
'Great...just what we need, more snow!' she muttered to herself as she walked back into the kitchen upon hearing the kettle whistling on the stove.
Carefully she poured the hot water into her coffee cup, gently stirring it's contents until it was fully mixed and then sat down at the counter. 'I'll be glad when this winter is over with so we can finally shut down that darn malfunctioning furnace for the year. Doubt the School Board will do anything about repairing it this coming summer through, as they usually do every year despite the constant complaints. The day they began cutting back on proper maintenance and routine checkups, I knew it was only a matter of time before those boilers began to malfunction.'
Since November of last year, Degrassi has had more than it's fair share of malfunctions when it came to their boiler and heating system.
It all started with the furnace, which at first functioned normally but then gradually got worse by Christmas, constantly running nonstop which made the entire school feel like a mid summertime's heatwave at times.
If that wasn't bad enough, just recently the second boiler decided to join in on the malfunctioning festivities as well, prompting sudden power failures and constantly setting off the fire alarm system.
So far, the school had already received multiple warnings and four nuisance related fines from various fire departments across Toronto as a result of them.
With today being the first of April, Louella knew this wasn't going to be one of those 'easy going' days.
'I am so not looking forward to work today...I'm not in the mood for any ridiculous pranks, especially when I'm already stressed out as is dealing with that annoying boiler system.' She continued as she finished up her cup of coffee then checked her watch. 'Time to face the music and head off for work!'
She got up from the counter and placed the cup into the sink to be washed later on then headed back into the living room to turn off the television, put on her jacket cause it was still cold outside, grabbed the keys to the school and placed them upon her belt then began for the door, making sure it was locked behind her.
The sounds of a door closing and jingling keys grabbed the attention of Wheels, who was just about ready to grab another roll of toilet paper from the bag.
"Guys, it's Louella! Quick, hide!"
Joey and Snake quickly grabbed their bags of stuff as quietly as they could and rushed over to the side of the building where hopefully they wouldn't be seen by the janitor as she made her way towards the street.
"Are you sure that's Louella, Wheels?" Joey asked.
"Of course I'm sure...who else works at this school with spiky blond hair like that? I didn't know she lived just across the street!"
"Shh, she's making her way over here." Snake asserted.
The three boys watched as Louella carefully crossed the road onto school property.
At first she didn't even seem to take notice of the mess that surrounded her as she made her way towards the main entrance but then she walked right into a strand of toilet paper, startling her and nearly causing her to fall back on her butt!
'What the?' she growled under her breath as she looked around to see the entire school yard was covered in toilet paper. '...Goofballs! What a great way to start...Ugh, what else can go wrong today?'
Both Joey and Wheels couldn't help but snicker as they continuously watched Louella take it all in before storming up the stairs towards the main entrance, unlocking the door and headed into the school.
Once the coast was clear, Joey motioned for Wheels and Snake to follow him.
"Where are we going now Joey?" asked Wheels.
"Inside..."
"Inside the school? Joey, we'll get caught for sure if we go in there and by the looks of things, Louella isn't exactly in the best of moods right now!" Snake quavered.
"Snake, would you please stop worrying? I guarantee you we won't get caught alright! We just have to keep a low profile until school starts...besides, if we stay out here we'll be caught for sure by the other custodians who are just now arriving for work. I could have sworn I saw a flash of light coming from the other end of the parking lot so come on, let's get a move on inside!"
Quickly the three boys headed up the steps to the main entrance and walked in, carefully watching for any signs of Louella as they neared the hallway.
"Alright, the coast is clear...let's head up to the second floor. I'm sure we'll be safe up there until around eight, eight thirty." Joey ordered as he began making his way towards the stairwell on the right.
"I really don't like this idea Joey..." Snake continued voicing his concern as he and Wheels quickly followed Joey up the stairs. "Exactly where would we be safe upstairs? Most of the doors are locked..."
Meanwhile down in the Boiler Room, Louella was hard at work trying to figure out how she along with the rest of her crew were going to deal with the toilet paper incident while keeping up with their already hectic schedules.
"OK, so if I get Lou, Scott, Gregory and Josh out there cleaning up the toilet paper mess, that will only leave Sue, Tammy, Mary and I to handle the rest of the maintenance. Just as long as the boiler system doesn't act up too much today we should hopefully be alright..."
Just as she finished, the other custodians began entering the boiler room.
"Morning Louella! I take it you saw the mess out front...must have been done sometime in the middle of the night." replied Sue Jenkins, Louella's second in command custodian.
"Yeah...Needless to say, I am SO not impressed. But I just figured out how we're all going to handle this situation which I say is pretty equal so there won't be any complaints from either one of you! Lou Robbins, you along with Scott Nolan, Gregory Jackson and Josh Thomas will be outside handling the toilet paper mess as soon as there's daylight. Judging by how much is out there, I'd say it'll be an all day job unfortunately. In the meantime, Sue, Tammy, Mary and I will add on parts of your schedules to ours and continue maintenance inside the building. I just hope the boiler system won't be too much of a hassle for us today."
"Well Louella, we can't be too surprised considering today is April Fools Day. There's bound to be a few pranks pulled here and there." Gregory reasoned. "Which is why I think it's best that we all remain on our toes today! Who ever is responsible for this toilet paper incident, should they even attend Degrassi Junior High that is, may have other plans up their sleeve and if so, I suggest you guys watch your backs!"
"Gregory, I highly doubt anyone here at Degrassi pulled this prank. Maybe a bunch of students from Borden High did it, but we can't really point fingers cause we don't have any proof that it was them! What's done is done and we just have to deal with the consequences. Now come on guys...we better get started on the day otherwise we'll all be behind schedule. It's close to Six Fifteen now and we've got lots to do today!" Louella addressed as she lead everyone out of the boiler room.
"Not exactly the best way to start the day, is it guys?" said Scott as he was the last to leave.
Upstairs, the boys had no other choice than to hide in the Resource Centre since many of the other rooms were locked and there were no bathrooms to be had on the second floor of the school either.
"Great idea Joey...you better hope nobody decides to come up here, especially Louella. If she finds us, we'll never hear the end of it!" hissed Wheels.
"Relax Wheels, she won't find us. Trust me!"
"How do you know, Joey?" spat Snake. "Maybe this room might even be on her list of things in need of doing before School starts. Then what? There's really not that many places we could quickly go and hide in other than being under a table, but even that's not going to help us out much."
"Alright, fine. If it'll make you guys feel better, we'll find another place to hide. Come on." Joey declared as he carefully opened the door and checked out the hall to make sure the coast was clear, again. "Alright, it's clear...let's go. So where would be a great place to hide then? The gym might be out of the question, bathrooms are definitely a no go."
"What about somewhere in the basement?" Wheels suggested.
"Great idea Wheels...besides we need to be down there anyway to pull off the next prank! You are a genius!"
"Guys, I don't think that's really such a good idea!" Snake objected. "I mean, being extremely close to the custodians. We'll get caught for sure!"
"Not really Snake...the custodians are usually going in and out of the boiler room. Many other rooms barely get used down there, especially the broom closet near the right side basement doors. I doubt the right side of the basement gets used much anyway." Wheels added in.
Snake still wasn't so sure. "How do you know Wheels?"
"Cause I was once down there for most of the day when I didn't feel like taking anymore classes. It's what I tend to do now just to avoid the Old Bag nagging on me as to why I wasn't in school due to a phone call. As long as I'm present for the day and on school grounds, they have no reason to call home. The custodians had no clue I was even down there the entire time!"
"Well, then it's settled! Let's head on down into the basement! Around Eight O'clock we'll pull off the next prank and by then the other kids should be arriving for school as well so we can start hanging out in the halls more without getting caught! Snake, still got the supplies?"
"Yes Joey...I still don't think this is a great idea."
"Snake...where is your sense of humour, man? There's no harm in pulling a few pranks!"